Combination can opener and sealer



COMBINATiON CAN OPENER AND SEALER Filed August 14, 1925 FZ Z I N VEN TOR.

WM QHug/ies 13 y ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 29, 1925.

UNITED STATES,

cLIrronn enemies, or

woop, INDIANA, AssIoNon or ONE HALF "ro omvnn 13. FRAZIER, or ELWOOD, INDIANA.

COMBINATION CAN OPENER AND SEALER.

Applicationflled August 14, 1925.

To all whom it mag concern:

B i known. thatlyGnrrr rn G: HUGHES, a citizen of the United Stew, residing at Elwood, in the county of Madison and State o India a, have invented cert in new and useful Improvements in Combination Can Openers and Sealers, of which the following is a specification.

My said invention relates to a combined can opener and sealer and it is an object of the invention to provide means whereby a metal container of fruit or the like may remain permanently sealed until such time as it is desired to use the same whereupon it may be opened in such a way that the contents will be protected even if used at intervals instead of emptying the container immediately. This is intended to be done in such a way as to keep the container hermetically sealed except when the contents are actually being removed.

One purpose of my invention is to afford a ready means for opening metal containers, while at the same'time providing a spout and a means for sealing the can when not in use.

Another purpose ofv this invention is to secure all the advantages of a glass container while using metal containers which are decidedly cheaper than those made of glass, and to do it in such a novel way as to make the device economical and practical.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made a part hereof and on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts,

Figure l is an elevation of the combined can opener and sealer,

Figure 2, a side elevation of the device,

Figure 3, a longitudinal section of the device in position in a metal container, and

Figure 4., a plan of the device.

The combined can opener and sealer consists mainly of a cylindrical body member 10 terminating in a portion 11 shaped as a truncated cone. Intermediate the ends of the body is an integral flange 12 providing an annular shoulder on the opener. A gasket 13 is located beneath the flange, said gasket being preferably made of soft,'pliable material so as to adapt itself to the shape of the adjacent partsof the can opener as well as the top of the container 14 when the device is positioned thereon. Preferably the gasket extends outward beyond the flange Serial No. 50,326.

but this is not essential. The truncated cone portion has a thread at 15 arranged to screw into the top of the can after a hole has been cut by the sharp edge formed at theflower end of the device between theouter periph= cry and the inner bore 16. Preferably this edge lies in a plane oblique to the axis of the tool as indicated at 17 to form a sort of Wedge for easier cutting.

The body member 10 is threaded at its upper end to receive a cap 18 which is knurled over a part or the whole of its periphery surface for easy removal of the cap. The

periphery of the body member may also be knurled wholly or in part, as at 19, for easy application and removal of the device.

The threads at 15 are so shaped that they have an increasing pitch as the pitch diameter increases, thereby affording a wider space for the tin to be bent backward at the base of the thread forming projection 11, and so causing an effective seal; As the seat in a metal container 14 is formed in the manner described the rubber gasket 13 is compressed between the top of the can and the shoulder on flange 12 thus forming a seal at the top of the can.

It may be noted that the cover 18 fits very closely by reason of the screw threads and thus provides practically an absolute seal for the contents. If desired packing means may be used in connection with the cover for improving this seal, as by placing a rubber gasket between the lower face of the cover and the upper end of the body 16.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that my device may be used in connection with a glass container having a metal cap and that many other changes may be made in the use of my device without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A combined can opening and sealing device comprising a hollow elongated body having threads adjacent one end for engagement with threads on a cap and having its opposite end lying in a plane oblique to the y axes of the body to provide a cutting edge, a peripheral flange 0n the body intermediate 110 its ends, said body being reduced on the opposite side of the flange from the threaded portion and tapering from a point adja cent said flange to the oblique end of the body with threads on said tapering portion increasing in pitch with the diameter of the tapered portion for engaging an opening in a metal container or the like whereby when the tapered portion is inserted in the container the metal will be bent backward to an increasingly greater degree, a gasket between the flange and the adjacent face of a container, and a cap on said body having threads for engagement with the threads on on their outer surfaces, substantially as set forth.

2. A combined can opening and sealing device comprising a hollow body having a sharp end with a tapered threaded portion adjacent said end the threads on said tapered portion increasing in pitch with the diameter of the tapered portion, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 7th day of August, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-five. 1

CLIFFORD G. HUGHES. [n s] 

